No Real ID? Soon you will have to Pay TSA Screening Fee

(Learfield News/Bloomington, MN) — Beginning Sunday, February 1st, airline passengers 18 and older who do not have a REAL ID or another acceptable form of government‑issued identification will be required to pay a $45 fee to verify their identity before passing through airport security and boarding a flight.

TSA Regional Spokesperson Jessica Mayle says travelers who pay the fee will receive a receipt that must be shown at the security checkpoint.

She says the online payment process is brief and asks for a traveler’s first date of travel.

“The reason for that is this is good for ten days,” Mayle said. “So if you’re there and back within ten days, you can use that receipt more than once. If your trip is longer than ten days, you would need to pay again.”

Mayle says more than 94 percent of travelers nationwide already present acceptable identification at TSA checkpoints — a number that’s even higher at Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport. The payment site is available at tsa.gov.